Trojans set to tangle with Utes in Friday night clash

Coming off of yet another disappointing loss, the Trojans (1-2) are traveling to Salt Lake City after a short week to face the No. 24 Utah Utes (3-0). The game is the second consecutive road tilt for the Trojans and their third game away from the Coliseum of the season in four weeks.

The game against Utah will be the first start of the season for redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold, who was named the new starter on Monday.

“I’m just going to do my best with the opportunity given and hopefully we get a W,” Darnold said.

The San Clemente native has appeared in all three of the Trojans’ games so far and is 14-22 with 136 yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception. Head coach Clay Helton said that he sees Darnold as an every down quarterback.

“I want to see a spark in our offense, and I hope that Sam can bring that,” Helton said. “I’m confident in it after three games of watching him perform.”

For an offense that ranks last in the Pac-12, Darnold will need the offensive line to help him get the offense on the right track. The offensive line had five false starts in the first half of the Stanford game alone, and penalties have proven to be one of the problems the team needs to curb in order to win on Friday night.

Utah senior defensive end Hunter Dimick is the conference leader in sacks, with three so far on the season, and the Utes are the conference leader and second in the nation in sacks as a team — having tallied 15 this season. Ten players have recorded a sack, and the Utes recorded 10 sacks as a team in last week’s game against Utah State.

In addition to facing the challenge of a stout defensive line, the Trojans are also up against the elements. With rain on the forecast, USC prepared this week by running drills with wet balls. The team has also prepared for the typically hostile environment at Rice-Eccles Stadium by using simulated crowd noise at practice.

The Trojan defense will likely get in trouble if the offense cannot help them stay off of the field. USC has a challenge ahead of it facing another dual-threat quarterback, in freshman Jalen Hurts of Alabama and junior Kent Myers of Utah State.

“He’s very athletic so we’ve got to contain him, make sure he doesn’t run,” sophomore defensive end Porter Gustin said. “They’ve got a pretty solid O-line, I think. So just get off blocks, set edges, be quick on the pass rush and play physical.”

Gustin is one of two players from Utah and he said he is excited about playing in cooler weather and in front of friends and family. The other Utah native is graduate transfer defensive tackle Stevie Tu’ikolovatu, who is also looking forward to return and play against his former school.

“I remember beating USC, saying how much I hated these guys, but now I love them to death,” Tu’ikolovatu said. “[I’m] telling everybody how the other offensive lineman plays, what’s his weaknesses, so we can try to capitalize on that.”

The last time the teams met in Salt Lake City was in 2014, where the Utes snuck past the Trojans with a 24-21 win. Friday will be a “blackout” game, meaning the crowd will be completely dressed in black, and the atmosphere will be the same as it was in 2014, another blackout game.

The matchup is televised on Fox Sports 1 at 6 p.m. PT.